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War of the Ancients (novel account)
=General= This alternate version of the history was described in the War of the Ancients Trilogy, the 3 books by Richard A. Knaak. This alternate version was created by 3 characters from our current time traveling back in time 10,000 years and witnessing firsthand the events of the war unfolding, and eventually being responsible for changing key aspects of it. It is not currently known whether Blizzard considers the War of the Ancients Trilogy as the official, authorative source of the 'true' history, though certain aspects of our current timeline do seem to suggest this. Please see War of the Ancients for the current, official version of the history, as described on the official World of Warcraft homepage. What follows is a summary of this alternate history with special emphasis placed upon how it differs from the official version. The following contains spoilers, if you have not read the books yet. Thrown back in time Shortly after the end of the Third War, the human mage Rhonin, was looking forward to settling down with his wife, the High Elf Vereesa Windrunner, but he was called away, once again, by his friend and mentor, the dragon-mage Krasus. Nozdormu, the timeless one, the bronze dragon-aspect, had barely managed to contact Krasus and draw his attention to a strange anomaly in the mountains of Kalimdor. Krasus convinced Rhonin to travel with him to Kalimdor to investigate. Meanwhile, the orcs Broxigar and Kasgal, were sent by their warchief Thrall on a similar mission, having caught wind of the strange event taking place nearby. Once there, Krasus, Rhonin and Brox discovered a 'hole' in time. They were pulled in, and end up 10,000 years in the past, just before the first invasion of the Burning Legion. Brox was soon captured by the Night Elf Moonguard, but Rhonin and Krasus fell into the hands of the demi-god Cenarius, who wondered who they were and became determined to find the truth about them. Krasus found he was much weaker than normal, his magical abilities almost totally gone. Rhonin on the other hand became far more powerful. They believed this was somehow tied to the existence in this time period of the Well of Eternity, the fount of magic the Night Elves wield as the center of their culture. Night-Elf Allies Meanwhile, the young Night Elf Malfurion Stormrage was became more adept at the druidic magics his Shan'do Cenarius was teaching him. But in the process, he became more detached from the extravagant and arrogant ways of his own people. His twin brother Illidan, on the other hand, would like nothing more than to be a powerful caster of arcane magic, and to earn the respect of his peers and the powerful Moonguard. Both Malfurion and Illidan, were close friends with Tyrande Whisperwind, and apprentice to the Sisters of Elune. It was Tyrande who discovered the captured Orc, Brox, who was unlike any creature they had ever seen. She treated him kindly and healed his wounds, gaining the Orc's respect. Meanwhile Malfurion becomes concerned about a vision he recieved while in the Emerald Dream. It appears the Highborne, the powerful mages of night elf aristocracy, were calling on something evil up in the tower of the palace. He could feel how the spell disturbed nature and the Well, and could not believe that their beloved queen would not know of this strange and dangerous spellcasting. Corruption of the Highborne Lord Xavius was the one responsible for the strange spellwork that happened in the palace of queen Azshara. He was convinced more power could be drawn from the Well of Eternity with a properly focused spell... but he unlocked something far more than he could have dreamed of. Across the Twisting Nether, the corrupted Titan, Sargeras stares back at Xavius, and utterly corrupts him. With Xavius' help, he influenced all of the highborne, including the queen herself. From that moment on, they were focused on the single goal; of bringing Sargeras into the world of Azeroth, where he, and the armies of the Burning Legion, would cleanse the world of the unfit. Krasus finds himself Krasus noticed that his, and his companions' captivity, were being watched by one of his own kind. He managed to convince the dragon to take him to the queen of the red dragon flight, Alexstrasza, the aspect of life, and his long time companion. Alexstrasza, in her wisdom, quickly understood the situation, even though Krasus was hesitant to tell much of the future knowledge he had. Krasus met his younger self, Korialstrasz, and they both found they fair better in each other's presence. Apparently Krasus and Korialstrasz could not share a single time, as they are one and the same. This weakened them unless they were together. Alexstrasza brought Krasus to the Chamber of Air, where a meeting between the dragons were to be held. There, Krasus met the other three great Aspect, including Neltharion (Deathwing). Neltharion proposed to create a mighty artifact, in which the dragons imbued their power to and used it as a weapon to drive back the Burning Legion. Unknown to the other dragons except Krasus, who travlled from the future and knew of Deathwing's betrayal, Neltharion actually tried to use that artifact (The Demon Soul) to control the other dragon to achieve his ambition of godhood. Krasus tried to warn the other dragons, regardless to the damage of timeline due to his rash action. But as he accidentally met Neltharion's eyes, the Earth Warder's power easily penetrated the unawared Krasus's thoughts and was horrified to find out that Krasus was about to spill out his terrible secret. He secretly bewitched Krasus with one of his most cunning spells. When Krasus tried to tell the other dragons about Deathwing's play, he was bewitched and could only utter nonsense words before fainting. Hence Deathwing's betrayal by using the Dragon Soul (Demon Soul) was undiscovered until the day the Earth Warder decided to act. After Krasus fainted, his queen and Korialstrasz brought him back to the red's lair. During his unconsciousness, Krasus was again contacted by the Timeless One, who told him that the world was coming to an end and all would be eradicated unless one night elf could be found. Before Krasus could ask for the name of the night elf, the Timeless One was again gone. Krasus woke and told his brief encounter with the missing Aspect to his queen, who believed in his story and ordered Korialstrasz to take Krasus to find the night elf. Unwillingly, Krasus parted with his queen along with his younger self, Korialstrasz, who knew nothing about Krasus's identity. They flew back to Zin-Azshari under Krasus's guidance, and were horrified by the genocide of the night elves by the demons pouring out from the gates of the palace. Korialstrasz and Krasus killed a few demons and slowed down their hunt of the escaping night elves, but they were of no match to the endless ranks of demons. They retreated, and Krasus figured out a plan. By wandering aimlessly in the forest, Krasus was soon arrested by the patroling guards led by Jarod Shadowsong. Krasus was very willing to be arrested and had shown no resistance whatsoever. Korialstrasz, who remained unseen in the sky, followed his older self to the settlement of the night elves. There, Krasus met the priestness Tyrande Whisperwind, and was quite surprised to see the orc Broxigar beside her. Krasus saw the unconscious Malfurion Stormrage, who was trapped by the crystall of LordXavius during his quest to destroy the portal. Under the joint effort of Krasus, Brox, Korialstrasz and Tyrande, Malfurion managed to escape and destroyed the portal, temperarily stopping the invasion by the Legion and destroyed the tainted Xavius. The Invasion of the Legion Xavius and the High-Borne summoned Hakkar the Houndmaster, who came under the order of Sargeras. The Houndmaster summoned forth many felbeasts to hunt down the unfit. His scout, however, was reported missing, indicating that powerful resistance forces were in play against the Legion. Under the joint effort by Hakkar and the Highborne, they still were unable to create a stable vortex large enough to let Sargeras to pass through. Queen Azshara suggested to cut the Well to outside, save for their own use. Xavius and Hakkar saw the merits and began to construct the matrix. However, their knowledge were not sufficient to finish their work. Xavius once again seeked help from the portal by speaking to Sargeras. Sargeras was furious but still he sent one of his most trusted commander,Mannoroth the Flayer, to provide help. Broxigar's escape The coming of the Legion - Cut off from the well - Distruction of Zin-Ashari Black Rook Hold - Ravencrest The battle against the Legion The Betrayal of Neltharion - The Dragon Soul Illidan While in the original version of history Illidan betrayed his people to warn Azshara of a coming attack, in the altered version of history Malfurion never intentionally set out to destroy the Well of Eternity. The Well was destroyed accidentally. In this version of history Illidan obviously never heard any plans to destroy the Well, and thus never warned Azshara. In the alternate history, Illidan was convinced to aid in the release of the orc warrior, Broxigar, by Tyrande. Brox had been transported through time and the night elves had taken him captive, having never seen an orc and not knowing what to make of him. Most night elves, including Illidan, judged him by his appearance and believed he was a dangerous brute. Tyrande, on the other hand, pitied Brox and plotted his escape. After Brox had been freed and led to safety by Malfurion, Lord Kurtalos Ravencrest made it his priority to recapture the orc. Ravencrest commanded Illidan to accompany his search party, being aware of Illidan's skill with magic and knowing that Illidan would follow orders better than the sorcerors of the Moon Guard. Illidan obeyed Ravencrest, intending to ride with him and gain favor with the lord while not making any sincere effort to track down his brother and Brox. Something unexpected occurred while Illidan was with the search party, however. The riders found the remains of a Moon Guard patrol. While investigating the scene, they were ambushed by the things that had slaughtered the Moon Guard sorcerors: felhounds that devoured magic and were immune to conventional magical attacks. Illidan instinctively jumped out of the way of an attacking felbeast, inadvertently slamming into Ravencrest and knocking him out of harm's way as well. Illidan subsequently figured out a way around the felbeast's immunity to magic and killed it. After seeing Illidan do this and believing Illidan had intentionally saved his life moments earlier, an impressed Ravencrest took the young night elf on as his personal spellcaster. The ambitious Illidan was happy to accept such a prestigious position. Of course, if Brox had not been taken prisoner and escaped, none of this would have happened. After the war against the Legion commenced and the night elves fought alongside Brox, Rhonin and Krasus, Rhonin was also impressed by Illidan's skill with magic. The human mage from the future took it upon himself to teach Illidan all he knew. Unfortunately, Rhonin was unable to keep Illidan's recklessness in check. While Illidan led the sorcerors of the Moon Guard efficiently and killed countless demons with their aid, he was often unaware of the effect his spells had on his comrades. Illidan would often cast complex and powerful spells that involved the cooperation of every member of the Moon Guard, who would lend him their energies. Illidan used these energies effectively and wreaked havoc among the Legion's forces, but more often than not he drew on his fellow sorcerors too heavily, pushing them close to the breaking point. Illidan's behaviour may have been caused by the fact that he drew heavily on the addictive power of the Well of Eternity to fight the demons, a power which many (including Tyrande and Rhonin) had come to view as tainted. In the middle of the war, Illidan discovered to his dismay and vexation that despite all of his efforts to impress Tyrande with his rise in power and in station, she was attracted more to Malfurion than she was to him. While he was brooding and wallowing in self-pity one day, thoughts began entering his mind, a voice that said Tyrande would be his if not for Malfurion...that if Malfurion was to fall in battle, Tyrande could still be his...that if Illidan allowed some tragedy to befall his brother, all his ambitions could be realized. Initially Illidan considered the idea but chastised himself angrily moments later for even thinking such things. Disgusted with himself, he stormed away, not seeing the figure of Xavius hiding in the trees nearby. Xavius was the one who had magically planted the thoughts in Illidan's head, in the hopes of causing dissension between the Stormrage brothers. Finally, in one battle, Illidan recklessly cast a spell that wiped out some of the night elf forces along with the demons they had been fighting. He did not appear to notice, and Ravencrest ordered Rhonin to take over leadership of the Moon Guard for the remainder of the battle. The human mage, appalled at what Illidan had done, gladly did so after seeing Illidan's spells accidentally kill more night elves and seeing some of the Moon Guard collapse from exhaustion. Illidan mistakenly believed that Rhonin had taken his place out of ambition and that Ravencrest had cast him aside permanently. He doubted that he would be allowed to lead the Moon Guard again and felt cheated and bitter. Ravencrest fell in battle later that day, eliminating any chance of the misunderstanding between the two being cleared up. This contributor's impression is that the lord would have been willing to consider reinstating Illidan if the younger night elf pledged to be more careful. After this battle ended, Illidan could not be found by his brother among the night elf forces. In fact, he had gone to Zin-Azshari to pledge his loyalty to the Burning Legion. After winning an audience with Sargeras, Illidan told him that the artifact known as the Demon Soul contained power enough to easily expand the interdimensional portal and allow him entrance to Azeroth. Sargeras was aware of how the dragon Neltharion had used the Demon Soul to effortlessly decimate the Legion's forces (before the insane Aspect used it to also decimate the night elf forces and attack the other dragonflights), and agreed with Illidan. He ordered Illidan to go with Captain Varo'then to retrieve the artifact, but not before giving Illidan a "gift". Sargeras froze him in place and burned away Illidan's eyes. Illidan, in immense pain, had to magically induce a coma to recover from the ordeal, but when he awoke he found that the new form vision Sargeras had granted him was vastly superior to what his old eyes allowed him to see. With his eyes gone and the flesh around the sockets charred, the bone being exposed in places, Illidan was given a blindfold to wear for the sake of appearances; the area between his nose and forehead was now extremely unpleasant for any normal person to look at. Unbeknownst to the demons, Illidan intended to betray them. He had pretended to join them only to learn more of the magic the Eredar practiced and to acquire the Demon Soul, which he planned to use to personally close the portal, eradicate the demons already on Azeroth and become the greatest hero Kalimdor had ever known... Illidan, Varo'then and a contingent of demons succeeded in acquiring the Demon Soul, ambushing Malfurion and Brox after they had stolen it from Neltharion. After bringing the artifact to Zin-Azshari, however, Illidan's plan hit a snag. He had hoped to convince everyone that he should be the one to wield the Demon Soul and bring Sargeras into Azeroth. Sargeras still did not fully trust him, however, and decided that he would wield the Demon Soul himself from the other side of the portal. Without access to the Demon Soul, Illidan came up with another plan. He would wait until Sargeras began working to open the portal, at which time he would sneak away and cast a spell to reverse the effect of the portal, creating a maelstrom that would suck the demons back into the Twisting Nether from whence they came. To aid in the casting of this spell, Illidan took some of the Well's water. On his way to cast the spell, Illidan encountered Tyrande, who had been taken prisoner by the Legion and was in the process of escaping. Eager to impress her with his cleverness and heroism, he took her with him to the location where he planned to work his magic. Tyrande was horrified by what had happened to Illidan's eyes and by how much he reveled in painfully killing a felbeast in their path. She also had doubts concerning whether his idea would work and was shocked when she learned that he intended to use a vial of the Well's water to cast his spell, which legend said was dangerous in the extreme. Illidan grew angry at her and forced her to stay quiet and watch him as he cast the spell that he thought would save the world. Too late, Tyrande sensed dark presences aiding Illidan's spellwork. These were, in fact, the Old Gods who hoped to enter Azeroth themselves after Sargeras and claim it for themselves. The spell Illidan was casting would actually bring them closer to their goal, a fact which Illidan was unaware of. Before Tyrande could tell him what was happening, Illidan's spell had already been cast...(more to come) The Well of Eternity The Well of Eternity was a well which the Night Elfs mainly used for their spells. When the High Born tried to bring the Burning Legion to Azeroth they cut the powerflow to the rest of the Night Elves and used it for themselves. Because many Night Elves where worried aboat this they all went to the palace to ask Aszhara for her aid. But when the gates after several hours opened it was not their beloved Queen who come, but the Burning Legion. After that the first portal was destroyed all the Night Elves had their spellcraft restored. At the end of the war the Well got destroyed wich splitt Kalimdor into the now 3 known landmasses Kalimdor, Nothrend and the Eastern Kingdoms. Also got the Earthen deeply affected wich put them into them slumber to be awakenen again many thousands years later. The Sundering of the World =On the differences between these two histories= The primary difference between the two histories (Aside from the presence of Krasus, Rhonin and Brox) are the role of Jarod Shadowsong and the experiences of Tyrande Whisperwind towards the conclusion of the war. The Warcraft III manual clearly describes the final battle against Azshara and hints at her death, but "The Sundering" establishes that Azshara was not present at the end of the war and that she survived as a Naga. The absence of Hakkar the Houndmaster from Warcraft III suggests that no visible differences occured in the histories, though the question of Jarod Shadowsong's fate remains unknown. Category:Lore